Energy consumption of mobile data transfer – Increasing or decreasing? Evaluating the impact of technology development & user behavior

15 pages•Published: May 10, 2018

Hanna Pihkola, Mikko Hongisto, Olli Apilo, Mika Lasanen and Saija Vatanen

Abstract

Mobile data consumption in Finland is among the highest in the world. Increase in mobile data usage has been rapid and continuous growth is foreseen. While the energy consumed per transmitted gigabyte has substantially decreased, it seems that the absolute annual energy consumption related to mobile operators’ activities has started to increase. Simultaneously, consumer behavior is changing. While new end-user devices are more and more energy-efficient, we use more and more time with mobile devices. Is increasing usage outweighing achieved energy savings? What kinds of options are available for tackling increasing energy demand?
This paper discusses current and future trends related to energy consumption of mobile data transfer and mobile networks in Finland. Using a top-down approach and publicly available data, an illustrative trend (kWh/gigabyte) for the energy consumption of transmitted mobile data was constructed for the years 2010-2016. In addition, energy consumption related to mobile data transfer is discussed from a life cycle perspective, considering both direct and indirect energy use and challenges in conducting such assessments. Contributions of relevant technological and social developments (radio network technology transformations from 4G to 5G and consumer behavior) are analyzed considering possible trade-offs and pointing out aspects that require future studies.

Keyphrases: consumer behaviour, energy consumption, ict, life cycle assessment, mobile access networks

In: Birgit Penzenstadler, Steve Easterbrook, Colin Venters and Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed (editors). ICT4S2018. 5th International Conference on Information and Communication Technology for Sustainability, vol 52, pages 301-315.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/GHs3
	https://doi.org/10.29007/ddrc

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{ICT4S2018:Energy_consumption_mobile_data,
  author    = {Hanna Pihkola and Mikko Hongisto and Olli Apilo and Mika Lasanen and Saija Vatanen},
  title     = {Energy consumption of mobile data transfer – Increasing or decreasing? Evaluating the impact of technology development & user behavior},
  booktitle = {ICT4S2018. 5th International Conference on Information and Communication Technology for Sustainability},
  editor    = {Birgit Penzenstadler and Steve Easterbrook and Colin Venters and Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Computing},
  volume    = {52},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2398-7340},
  url       = {/publications/paper/GHs3},
  doi       = {10.29007/ddrc},
  pages     = {301-315},
  year      = {2018}}

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